A Sri Lankan police officer stands guard at the site of a bus explosion as the wreckage of the bus is seen in the background, in Dambulla, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka,... (Associated Press)

(Newser)
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A bomb suspected to be the work of Tamil Tiger rebels detonated on a crowded bus in Sri Lanka today, killing at least 20 and leaving more than 60 seriously burned or otherwise injured. The parcel bomb ripped through a private bus carrying Buddhist pilgrims that had stopped at a station en route to a pilgrimage town, AFP reports.

The attack came amid heightened security ahead of Monday's celebration of the 60th anniversary of Sri Lankan independence. The Tamil Tigers have not claimed responsibility for the bombing, but they typically deny responsibility for attacks, the BBC reports. The latest attack follows one by a bicyclist suicide bomber who killed four people in northern Sri Lanka yesterday, also blamed on the Tigers.